TylerDeadPine wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 3:25 pm 1. Buffered pedal... boss tuner

I used to try to split my signal with the Boss tuner, but one of the outputs was weaker than the other, and I dunno if this was because of the buffer but I swear the tone or dynamics changed as well. That was a long time ago and they may have changed or there could have been other factors I didn't understand, but that was my experience. I'm also a no knobs on the guitar guy, but I know some folks roll back their tone or volume in ways which might make the Boss tone suck irrelevant so ymmv inri

ChudFusk wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 4:40 pm

TylerDeadPine wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 3:25 pm 1. Buffered pedal... boss tuner

I used to try to split my signal with the Boss tuner, but one of the outputs was weaker than the other, and I dunno if this was because of the buffer but I swear the tone or dynamics changed as well. That was a long time ago and they may have changed or there could have been other factors I didn't understand, but that was my experience. I'm also a no knobs on the guitar guy, but I know some folks roll back their tone or volume in ways which might make the Boss tone suck irrelevant so ymmv inri

never noticed that but I did notice that people had to listen to me tune on one of the amps because that output is always live. But on several live bootlegs I had, people had to listen to Fugazi tune .... still sounded good.

My setup three or four bands ago was a two channel Marshall (clean or pretty saturated) and a Traynor YBA3 set to semi dirty with a volume pedal going only to the Traynor for more dynamic control.

It was pretty magical. Aside from all the permutations of the two channels along with the off/on/or crescendo on the Traynor having the different gain settings made the two amps have a best of both worlds effect. When the Marshall was set to heavy with a bit of chug to it, the Traynor broke up the compressed nature of a saturated signal with a little more attack, dynamics and note definition. When the clean on the Marshall was a little needly or lacked sustain the Traynor could support with just a little more oomph. I never played in another band that had songs where the most intense parts were some version of "the clean tone" (even though it was a bit dirty).

Long story short: different gain structures coexisting simultaneously can be magic.

Here's a dim photo of the two amp set-up I've been using for a while.
I have an old Twin that I got used in the early 90's. I was ready to part with it but it ended up staying.
I had half-planned to replace it with the smaller Randall which I got cheap from a kind FM some years ago.
Since they were both sitting around, I figured I'd mess around with using both.
I like being able to grab the gain knob on top and quickly dial in some dirt when needed, as the Fender breakup is not so nice.
The Fender brings in more "note" for melodic playing with a rather loud band. More oomph. And I've been really enjoying the "vibrato" lately too.
I pulled two power tubes from the Twin at some point.

It's interesting that Mr Fusk uses the same Randall for the clean boost.

I feel OK sharing since Zom-Zom's no longer here to lampoon my rather homely set-up. (I miss Zom-Zom though.)
Let me add that this isn't for gigs, it only rolls a a few feet across the practice room, so practicality is not a huge concern.
It's more about plugging in the stuff that already sitting right there, because why not?

TylerDeadPine wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 5:34 pm

ChudFusk wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 4:40 pm

TylerDeadPine wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 3:25 pm 1. Buffered pedal... boss tuner

I used to try to split my signal with the Boss tuner, but one of the outputs was weaker than the other, and I dunno if this was because of the buffer but I swear the tone or dynamics changed as well. That was a long time ago and they may have changed or there could have been other factors I didn't understand, but that was my experience. I'm also a no knobs on the guitar guy, but I know some folks roll back their tone or volume in ways which might make the Boss tone suck irrelevant so ymmv inri

never noticed that but I did notice that people had to listen to be tune on one of the amps because that output is always live. But on several live bootlegs I had, people had to listen to Fugazi tune .... still sounded good.

I miss the sound of tuning between songs during live sets. Like really truly actually miss it

seby wrote: Mon Nov 21, 2022 7:04 am

TylerDeadPine wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 5:34 pm

ChudFusk wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 4:40 pm

I used to try to split my signal with the Boss tuner, but one of the outputs was weaker than the other, and I dunno if this was because of the buffer but I swear the tone or dynamics changed as well. That was a long time ago and they may have changed or there could have been other factors I didn't understand, but that was my experience. I'm also a no knobs on the guitar guy, but I know some folks roll back their tone or volume in ways which might make the Boss tone suck irrelevant so ymmv inri

never noticed that but I did notice that people had to listen to be tune on one of the amps because that output is always live. But on several live bootlegs I had, people had to listen to Fugazi tune .... still sounded good.

I miss the sound of tuning between songs during live sets. Like really truly actually miss it

I prefer it to the sound of an entire band stopping in silence to tune while the singer tries to keep some kind of semblance of magic going

Don't know if I've sung their praises before in regard to two amp setups, but the older V1 Neunaber pedals (mine is the generic Slate) are great buffered end of chain splitters, that you can load up with the algo of your choice. Mine's set up as a Stereo Wet reverb, and once the algo is set, I really appreciate the 3-knob simplicity of it. Stereo ins and outs, and crucially it will sum to stereo...a life saver if you have to roll back to a single amp, saving you having to rejig a bunch of pedalboard cables.

Neunaber are up to something like V5 now, but if you don't need algo switching on the fly, the V1s are a good used deal, I think.

Current chain:

Guitar: Memory man splits to a dry and wet signal:

Wet: MM - Big Muff - LP1 Boost - (AMP)AC30
Dry: Balls KWB Distortion - Dark Matter - Phase 90 - Flashback - Octavix - Lopper - (AMP)Super Reverb 65 RI

I'm using the 65RI as the "clean" amp/Pedal Platform because the AC30 breaks up so early, but I also love the way the Super breaks up so I am thinking about tinkering. The Balls sounds so, so good with that super reverb I leave it on with the LP Boost on the vox as kind of the moderately volume tolerable broken up sound.

I stole the AC30/Super Reverb dual use from Bailter Space. I think he had a little echo on the AC30 and it just filled up that guitar sound so very nicely. This was a late 90's US tour when I saw them, probably right after Wammo, but I'm not certain about that.

benadrian wrote: Wed Nov 09, 2022 2:02 pm This has recently been very frustrating to me as I've entered the world of trying to have simultaneous a clean/mild breakup ampp and distorted amp. If I set the amp levels to be the same when I'm playing loud, the clean amp drops off into obscurity when I play quietly. If I set the volumes for a good mix for more delicate playing, the clean amp is much too loud when I'm really laying into it.

I just finished a session where the guitar player had a 5150 for her saturated sound and a Bassman 100 for her "mild" overdrive sound, both running all the time, and it was fantastic. The Bassman, not normally an amp I like in any capacity, preserved the playing dynamics and added a lot of low end muscle to the chords, plus a little string attack to the single-note lines and mutes. On its own, it wasn't a flattering sound and I don't think anybody would like it, but as a kind of adjunct to the saturated sound It worked exceptionally well, adding depth and energy. That surprised me, since I'm used to hearing the same problem you're describing.

When I record bands who have a huge dynamic range (MONO, Neurosis...) I often have to set one mic in place with moderate gain for the quiet parts and another with a pad and lower preamp gain for the heavier parts, then learn the arrangement to the extent necessary to switch off the hi-gain mic so it doesn't blow out the track, or just wait till the take is down and erase it.

As I recall, the legendary Klon Centaur pedal uses both a clean and saturated signal path, and the drive control is actually a blend knob between them, so the "sweet spot" is something akin to having a cleaner amp and a roasted one running simultaneously with a balance struck between them, rather than a circuit being driven harder as the knob goes up.

-s

I had a bassman 135 that I sold a few years back and I kinda wish I hadn't. I could never make it sound good though, and I'd get noise complaints from adjacent zip codes when I tried to crank it to any overdrive at all.